The Social Security (Medical Evidence, Claims and Payments) Amendment Regulations 1989

Amendment to Part IV of the Claims and Payments Regulations

6.  After regulation 35 of the Claims and Payments Regulations (deductions from benefit and direct payment to third parties) there shall be inserted the following regulation–

“Transitional provisions for persons in hostels or certain residential accommodation

35A.— (1) In this regulation–

“benefit week” has the same meaning as it has in Schedule 7, paragraph 4;

“specified benefit” has the same meaning as it has in Schedule 9, paragraph 1; and

“Schedule 3B” means Schedule 3B to the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987(1).

(2) Expressions used in this regulation and in Schedule 3B have, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meanings in this regulation as they have in that Schedule.

(3) Where–

(a) immediately before the coming into force of Schedule 3B a beneficiary was in, or temporarily absent from, a hostel and a payment in respect of his accommodation charges was, or would but for that absence have been, made for the first week to a third party under–

(i) Schedule 9, paragraph 4 (miscellaneous accommodation costs), or

(ii) regulation 34 (payment to another person on the beneficiary’s behalf); and

(b) the beneficiary is entitled to eligible housing benefit for the period mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) of the expression “eligible housing benefit”; and

(c) the beneficiary continues to reside in the same hostel,

the adjudicating authority shall in a case to which paragraph (6) applies determine that an amount of specified benefit shall, subject to paragraphs (8) and (9), be paid to that third party.

(4) Where a beneficiary is in, or is temporarily absent from, accommodation which–

(a) was a hostel before the March benefit week; and

(b) in the second week is residential accommodation within the meaning of regulation 21 of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987,

paragraph (3) shall apply as if sub-paragraph (b) was omitted and as if the reference to paragraph (6) was a reference to paragraph (7).

(5) An amount of specified benefit shall not be paid to a third party under paragraph (3), as applied by paragraph (4), where the beneficiary–

(a) is in residential accommodation in the benefit week which commences in the period of 7 consecutive days beginning on 9th October 1989, but

(b) is a person to whom a protected sum is not applicable in accordance with paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 3B.

(6) This paragraph applies in a case where–

(a) the amount of the eligible housing benefit referred to in paragraph (3)(b) is less than

(b) the amount of the direct payment or the payment under regulation 34 in respect of the first week or the amount which would have been payable but for the temporary absence of the beneficiary in the first week;

and where this paragraph applies the amount of the specified benefit determined in accordance with paragraph (3) shall be the difference between the amounts specified in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b).

(7) This paragraph applies where the applicable amount which was appropriate to the beneficiary by way of personal expenses in the first week is less than the total applicable amount appropriate to the beneficiary in the second week; and where this paragraph applies the amount of the specified benefit determined in accordance with paragraph (3) as applied by paragraph (4) shall be the difference between those two amounts.

(8) Where immediately before the coming into force of Schedule 3B a beneficiary was temporarily absent from a hostel and the charge levied on him during that period of absence was less than the full charge for the accommodation, an amount of specified benefit shall not be paid to the third party in respect of the period for which less than the full charge was levied but shall be paid when the full charge is levied.

(9) Specified benefit shall not be paid to a third party in accordance with this regulation unless the amount of the beneficiary’s award of the specified benefit is not less than the total of the amount otherwise authorised to be so paid under this regulation plus 10 pence.

(10) for the purposes of paragraph (3)(c) residence shall be regarded as continuous where the only absences occurred during the permitted period and for this purpose “permitted period” has the same meaning as it has in regulation 3A of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987(2).

(11) This regulation shall cease to apply, where a beneficiary’s benefit week in the week commencing 2nd April 1990–

(i) begins on that day, on the day immediately following 8th April 1990;

(ii) begins on a day other than that day, on the day immediately following the last day in his benefit week.”.

(1)

S.I. 1987/1967; to which the relevant amendments are S.I. 1988/663 and 1445, and S.I. 1989/534.

(2)

S.I. 1987/1967; regulation 3A was inserted by S.I. 1989/1678 regulation 2.